The field of endeavor to which this invention pertains is that of accessories for small animals and pets, and more specifically, a feeding system for smaller animals that can discriminate based on animal size to physically prevent access to the food by larger animals.
A pet owner who owns both larger and smaller animals, e.g., dogs and cats, encounters problems with their dogs eating their cat""s food. Many pet owners like to leave cat food available to their cats 24 hours a day while feeding their dogs only once or twice a day. If cat food is left accessible to a dog, the dog is likely to eat the cat""s food against the owner""s wishes.
Traditional gravity operated cat feeders or any other mechanically operated cat feeders do not address this problem. For Example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,463 to Wilson, et al. will distinguish between large and small animals with an infrared detector but will not prevent a dog from taking a cat""s food after the food is dispensed.
An object of this invention is to provide a small animal feeder that discriminates according to size such that the food therein is not accessible by medium to large size animals.
According to one embodiment, the feeder""s housing is comprised of a modified cardboard box to form a box-like shape having an elongated front with a narrow vertical slit shaped opening narrow enough to allow entry by smaller animals, such as cats, beyond the animal""s shoulder region while preventing medium to large size animals, such as dogs, from accessing the inside of the housing beyond the animal""s shoulder region. Inside the housing is a removable food tray where food is placed and replenished by hand. The tray is preferably removed and replaced in the housing via the narrow vertical slit shaped opening.
Alternatively, the housing may be made of a material other than cardboard, such as vinyl, plastic, wood, or metal.
The invention advantageously gives the owner of both pet cats and medium to large size dogs the ability to make cat food available to the cats 24 hours a day without the cat food being consumed by the dogs.
The materials used in this invention are comparatively simple, inexpensive, and easy to manufacture. The product can be assembled by the consumers, i.e., sold in a kit form. There is no required electrical devices, thereby simplifying the invention""s manufacture and use.